Jussier da Silva Viera Formiga (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and is the former

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

South America 123-pound champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Shooto Brazil

Formiga won his professional mixed martial arts debut fight on November 29, 2008 at Shooto: Brazil 9 against Michael Willian Costa via split decision. This was followed up by an upset victory over Shinichi "BJ" Kojima via unanimous decision at Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 1: Undefeated. It was expected Formiga would be brought back for a year-end title rematch with Kojima. However, Kojima vacated the Shooto Bantamweight Championship, further complicating Jussier's future with the organization. Formiga was at this point, ranked as the number one Flyweight in the world and then fought

Alexandre Pantoja Alexandre Pantoja Passidomo (born, April 16, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter, currently fighting for the UFC and is the flyweight champion of the Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil. As of August 20, 2022, he is ...

, who was unbeaten as a Flyweight. On June 12, 2010, Formiga defeated Pantoja by unanimous decision to defend his South America Shooto 123 lb Championship.

Tachi Palace Fights

Formiga signed a four-fight exclusive contract with the California-based Tachi Palace Fights organization. His first fight with the organization was against WEC veteran

Danny Martinez Daniel Eugene Martinez (born June 14, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division of Taura MMA. A professional mixed martial artist since 2006, Martinez has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

at Tachi Palace Fights 7. Formiga won the fight by unanimous decision. Fomiga's next fight was against another WEC veteran in Ian McCall. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga next faced top-ranked Flyweight

Mamoru Yamaguchi Mamoru Yamaguchi (born May 29, 1977) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in Pancrase. He is the former Shooto Bantamweight (123 lb) Champion, former Shooto Featherweight (132 lb) Champion, former Pancrase Flyweight Champi ...

at Tachi Palace Fights 10. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On July 14, 2012 it was announced that Formiga signed with the UFC. Formiga faced John Dodson on October 5, 2012 at

UFC on FX 5 ''UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 5, 2012, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the fifth UFC event broadcast l ...

. After a slow first round, Formiga began to succumb to the speed of Dodson, and was eventually finished via TKO with ground strikes at 4:35 of the second round. Formiga faced

Chris Cariaso Chris Vincent Cariaso (born May 27, 1981) is a retired Filipino-American mixed martial artist who competed as a Flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal Cariaso is of Filipino descent. Mixed martial arts career Since turning p ...

on May 18, 2013 at

UFC on FX 8 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced

Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...

on September 4, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 28 ''UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 28'') was a mixed martial arts that was held on September 4, 2013, at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Background A bout between Raphael Assunção and T.J. D ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Formiga faced

Scott Jorgensen Scott Roger Jorgensen (born September 17, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC. Backgroun ...

on March 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 38. Formiga won the fight via submission in the first round. Formiga unintentionally butted Jorgensen's chin with the top of his skull, which went unnoticed by the referee and submitted the dazed Jorgensen via rear-naked choke. Jorgensen appealed the headbutt to the Brazilian Athletic Commission, however the result was upheld. Formiga was expected to face

Zach Makovsky Zachary Paul "Zach" Makovsky (born April 19, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of the Brave Combat Federation. He has competed in EliteXC, ShoXC, Bellator, and Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

on August 2, 2014 at

UFC 176 ''UFC 176: Aldo vs. Mendes II'' was a planned mixed martial arts event that was scheduled to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 2, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background The event was expected to be he ...

. However, after

was cancelled, Formiga/Makovsky was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 16, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 47 ''UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 47'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 16, 2014, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. Background The event was headlined by top ten light heavywe ...

. Formiga won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga was expected to face

John Moraga John Anthony Moraga (born March 20, 1984) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

on December 13, 2014 at UFC on Fox 13. However, on November 21, Formiga pulled out of the fight and was replaced by UFC newcomer

Willie Gates Willie Gates (born January 21, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for the UFC, King of the Cage, Tachi Palace Fights, and Bellator MMA. ...

. Formiga faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis Monte Alto Gonçalves (born January 6, 1985, in Januária) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC ...

on May 30, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 67. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Formiga next faced

Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...

on November 21, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He lost the fight by split decision. Formiga faced

Dustin Ortiz Dustin Ortiz (born December 25, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division and is currently signed to the Brave CF. A professional competitor since 2010, Ortiz has also formerly competed for the UFC, RFA, ...

on September 24, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 95 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga was expected to face

Sergio Pettis Sergio Jerome Pettis (born August 18, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed with Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Pettis competed in the Ultimate Fig ...

on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103. However, Formiga pulled out of the fight in late December and was replaced by

. Formiga faced Ray Borg on March 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 106. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. After alternating between wins and losses in the latest four fights, Formiga decided to move from his native Brazil to Florida, United States in order to train at American Top Team. Formiga faced

Ulka Sasaki Ulka may refer to: * Ulka Gupta (born 1997), Indian film and television actress * Ulka Sasaki (born 1989), Japanese mixed martial artist * DRDO Ulka, Indian air-launched expendable target drone * BNS Ulka, establishment of the Bangladeshi Navy ...

on September 23, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Formiga faced

Ben Nguyen Ben Nguyen or Nguyễn Ben, (born August 3, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he compiled a record of 4–3 with the organization. He is also a former Nitro B ...

on February 11, 2018 at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events ...

. He won the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a rear-naked choke. This win earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

bonus. Formiga faced

on October 6, 2018 at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced

Deiveson Figueiredo Deiveson Alcântara Figueiredo (born December 18, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the two-time and current UFC Fl ...

on March 23, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 148. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced

in a rematch on June 29, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 3 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 29, 2019, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Background Th ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Formiga faced

Brandon Moreno Brandon Carrillo Moreno (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion, and the c ...

on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced Alex Perez on June 6, 2020 at UFC 250. He lost the bout via first round technical knockout. On November 16, 2020, it was announced that Formiga had been released from his UFC contract and is now a free agent.

Post-UFC career

After the release from the UFC, Formiga headlined LFA 124 against Felipe Bunes on February 11, 2022. He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round.

Championships and awards

*Shooto South America **Shooto South American 123 lb Championship *

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(One time) vs

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 24–8 , Felipe Bunes , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 124 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–8 , Alex Perez , TKO (leg kicks) , UFC 250 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–6 ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:47 , Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 ,

, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 20–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–5 , Ray Borg , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–4 ,

, Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Saint Preux , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 , Natal, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–3 ,

, TKO (knee to the body and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 , Belo Horizonte, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city was originally named jus ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–2 , John Dodson , TKO (punches) , UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:35 , Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Sidney Oliveira , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Brazil 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Martin Coria , Submission (triangle choke) , Coliseu Extreme Fight , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Maceió Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form l ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Rodrigo Santos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fort MMA Championships 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 , Natal, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Michael Willian , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Brazil 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Tachi Palace Fights 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 25 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 , Ian McCall , Decision (unanimous) , TPF 8: All or Nothing , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Tachi Palace Fights 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 16 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Shinichi Kojima , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Revolutionary Exchanges 1: Undefeated , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Michael Willian , Decision (split) , Shooto Brazil 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ralph Lauren , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto Brazil 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jose Maria Tome , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Original Bairros Fight 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 , Natal, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Arinaldo Batista , Decision (unanimous) , Hikari Fight , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Natal, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Amaury Junior , Decision (unanimous) , Mossoró Fight , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mossoró Mossoró () is the second most populous city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and also the largest municipality of that state. It is equidistant (four hours' drive) from Natal (approximately 277 km or 172 miles), the state capi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Chacal Chacal , Submission (armbar) , Tremons Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 , Natal, Brazil , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Formiga, Jussier Brazilian male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka People from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Living people 1985 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Norte